Petrol and diesel prices on 29 March 2022: Petrol price in Delhi stands at Rs 100.21 per litre while diesel is available for Rs 91.47. In Mumbai, petrol is retailing at Rs 115.04 while diesel costs Rs 99.25
A fuel station in Gangtok. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Petrol price on Tuesday crossed Rs 100 a litre mark after rates were hiked by 80 paise a litre and 70 paise in case of diesel, taking the total increase in rates in one week to Rs 4.80 per litre.
Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 100.21 per litre as against Rs 99.41 previously while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 90.77 per litre to Rs 91.47, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers.
Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending upon the incidence of local taxation.
This is the seventh increase in prices since the ending of a four-and-half-month long hiatus in rate revision on 22 March. On the first four occasions, prices were increased by 80 paise a litre – the steepest single-day rise since the daily price revision was introduced in June 2017. On the following days, petrol price went up by 50 paise and 30 paise a litre while diesel rose by 55 paise and 35 paise a litre.
In all, petrol and diesel prices have gone up by Rs 4.80 per litre.
Prices had been on a freeze since 4 November ahead of the Assembly elections in states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab — a period during which the cost of raw material (crude oil) soared by about $30 per barrel.
The rate revision was expected soon after counting of votes on 10 March but it was put off by a couple of weeks.
The increase in retail price warranted by crude oil prices rising during the 137-day hiatus from around $82 per barrel to $120 is huge but state-owned fuel retailers Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) are passing on the required increase in stages.
Moody’s Investors Services last week stated that state retailers together lost around $2.25 billion (Rs 19,000 crore) in revenue for keeping petrol and diesel prices on hold during the election period.
Oil companies “will need to raise diesel prices by Rs 13.1-24.9 per litre and Rs 10.6-22.3 a litre on gasoline (petrol) at an underlying crude price of $100-120 per barrel,” according to Kotak Institutional Equities.
CRISIL Research said a Rs 9-12 per litre increase in retail price will be required for a full pass-through of an average $100 per barrel crude oil and Rs 15-20 a litre hike if the average crude oil price rises to $110-120.
India is 85 per cent dependent on imports for meeting its oil needs and so retail rates adjust accordingly to the global movement.
With inputs from agencies
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